Chapter 5

After her father had found out about her and they had started to race towards the mountain it didn’t take long before it started to get dark. She was glad that she was with her father; it felt as if she were on one of those adventures he used to tell her at nights. When they had stopped at one time to drink some water and rest she’d asked him about the howl coming from the mountains.

“Is that the Wind Wolf, father? That’s making those weird noises?”

“I bet it is. I’ve never seen him myself but he’s not a wolf to be afraid of, not if you treat his home with dignity.”

“Do you think he will like us coming to visit?” Abigail asked, sounding a bit worried over what the answer might be.

“Of course he will, can’t you hear him welcoming us now?” He said and looked at her as she cocked her head and tried to make out a voice of the sound.

“Helloooooo, he howls over and over again. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed.” Her father then said when she remained quiet.

When Abigail’s eyes lit up as she recognized the word from the sound, her father laughed and ruffled her hair. “My silly little girl.”

He then grabbed her hand and once again they were rushing through deep snow to beat the storm to the mountain.

 

The wind had picked up when they finally reached the mountain sending swirls of powdered snow in her face. She was exhausted and had even been carried during the last hour of so but no matter how much she tried to stand her legs still gave way and she dropped like a sack of potatoes on the ground with her back to a rock face, giving shelter to the most treacherous winds. The howl was now deafening, but it didn’t sound like a hallo anymore, at least not to her. Her father had left her there just a few minutes ago to go search for a better shelter further up the mountain, but it felt as an eternity before he finally came back, white as a giant snowball.

“Sweetie, we need to walk just a little bit more, not at all far I promise, just up this rock here and over the ledge and then there’s a small cave that we can stay in and wait out the storm. It’s much warmer. I bet I even can make a fire up there. Ok, sweetie?” He said and looked at her, his face full of worry. “Maybe even we’re lucky and the Wind Wolf is there to greet us.” He said in an attempt to cheer her up a bit.

It took a while for her to answer since she couldn’t feel her lips and her teeth had started to clatter. “O-o-ok, fa-ather.”

 

As a sack of potatoes he picked her up again and held her to his jacket; which was frozen stiff by the cold, and made his way up the mountain. While being carried in his arms she thought about the Wind Wolf, and if he was as kind as her father claimed he was. If he had been helloing all day then surely he should know that they were there. Maybe he wasn’t even real, just like her classmate Pete claimed that Santa Claus wasn't. She dismissed the thought, surely they must be real both, and who would else deliver all the Christmas presents to all well behaving kids out there. Pete was as dumb as he was mean; he was always fighting with the girls and younger boys, pulling their hair or pinching them. He probably didn’t even get any presents from Santa Claus, and it was no wonder why.

 

While she was thinking about Pete and Santa Claus she could feel herself being carried over what seemed to be a treacherous path, since her father nearly fell several times, but regained his footing just when she was sure she would get squashed under his weight. And then the sound grew quieter and the wind stopped tugging at her clothes, it felt warmer and when she opened her eyes they were inside a cave. Her father crouched down with his back to the cave wall, panting heavily and too tired even to speak. It was too dark to see anything, but it might as well have been a castle, she didn’t care. She was out of the cold winds and the deep snow; she had a roof over her head and solid ground at her feet.

Where are you, Wind Wolf? She thought just before she fell asleep seconds later in her father’s arms by the cave wall.

 

Author's Note

I've got several ideas for an ending but nothing definite. Please, if you have any ideas of this then please do share